Connie's Picks
A Fierce Radiance
by Lauren Belfer
While eating a most delicious island chicken salad over at Mayberry's
this afternoon, I finished the glorious new book: A Fierce Radiance, by
Lauren Belfer. I was lost in the world of 1940's New York and engulfed
in the incredibly complicated pursuit for penicillin and other
antibiotics (developed firstly and mainly to help the troops dying from
infections in the war, but also for the general population eventually.)
The smaller story of Claire Shipley, renowned Life Magazine
photographer, and her new found wealthy father and her son and her dog
and her fiancee, Jamie, is just as compelling. The characters are all
believable and real and hard to forget. The scientists at the labs at
Rockefeller Institute (today it is called University) were working
overtime to find a way to cure infections and stop people dying from
minor things. The government stepped in to say no patents could be had,
so the drug companies developed other antibiotics in addition to
penicillin, so they could make a profit. Claire's own son develops
pneunomia and gets teated by a new antibiotic--this whole book was
fascination from start to finish-I loved it!
While eating a most delicious island chicken salad over at Mayberry's this afternoon, I finished the glorious new book. I was lost in the world of 1940's New York and engulfed in the incredibly complicated pursuit for penicillin and other antibiotics (developed firstly and mainly to help the troops dying from infections in the war, but also for the general population eventually.) The smaller story of Claire Shipley, renowned Life Magazine photographer, and her newfound wealthy father, and her son and her dog and her fiancee, Jamie, is just as compelling. The characters are all believable and real and hard to forget. The scientists at the labs at Rockefeller Institute (today called University) were working overtime to find a way to cure infections and stop people dying from minor things. The government stepped in to say no patents could be had, so the drug companies developed other antibiotics in addition to penicillin, so they could make a profit. Claire's own son develops pneunomia and gets teated by a new antibiotic - this whole book was fascinating from start to finish - I loved it!
An Impartial Witness
by Charles Todd
ou all know how much I adore Maisie Dobbs (Jacqueline Winspear's
charming creation); well, here is another wonderful detective to
admire: Bess Crawford, who is the creation of esteemed mystery writer
Charles Todd (who is actually a mother-son writing team!) I read my
first Bess mystery a year ago, called A Duty to the Dead and I loved it;
an intelligent protagonist, set in England during and after WWI, old
fashioned mystery and intrigue. Then just a little while ago I received
an advanced reading copy of the second Bess mystery called An Impartial
Witness and it is every bit as good. A new series to follow, I love it!
Bess and Maisie would get along as they are both sensitive and
perceptive and smart and compelling and likable.
The newest book, An Impartial Witness, finds Bess in the trenches of
France going back and forth escorting patients to the hospital in
England. One patient is severely burned and the photo of his wife pinned
on his shirt has helped him survive. While in the railway station she
notices an emotional woman and realizes it is the wife of the soldier
she just brought home; shortly afterward the woman is found murdered and
the mystery begins. You will be captured from the first page by the
haunting atmosphere and compelling characters and evocative prose. Both
books will be published September 1st, Duty in paper and Witness in
hardback. I urge you to try them both!
You all know how much I adore Maisie Dobbs (Jacqueline Winspear's charming creation); well, here is another wonderful detective to admire: Bess Crawford, who is the creation of esteemed mystery writer Charles Todd (who is actually a mother-son writing team!) I read my first Bess mystery a year ago, called A Duty to the Dead and I loved it; an intelligent protagonist, set in England during and after WWI, old fashioned mystery and intrigue. Then just a little while ago I received an advanced reading copy of the second Bess mystery called An Impartial Witness and it is every bit as good. A new series to follow, I love it! Bess and Maisie would get along as they are both sensitive and perceptive and smart and compelling and likable. An Impartial Witness finds Bess in the trenches of France going back and forth escorting patients to the hospital in England. One patient is severely burned and the photo of his wife pinned on his shirt has helped him survive. While in the railway station she notices an emotional woman and realizes it is the wife of the soldier she just brought home; shortly afterward the woman is found murdered and the mystery begins. You will be captured from the first page by the haunting atmosphere and compelling characters and evocative prose. Both books will be published September 1st, Duty in paper and Witness in hardback. I urge you to try them both!
They're Watching
by Gregg Hurwitz
I have been a Greg Hurwitz fan for years so I was especially pleased
when his latest book arrived at Village Books with a hand written note
inside from Greg himself, thanking his beloved booksellers who have
supported him from the beginning and allowed him to do what he loves.
His latest, They're Watching, is a delicious blend of suspense and
emotional depth and high tech and exciting intensity that will keep you
up very late reading! This very well constructed thriller follows
Patrick, a screenwriter and teacher and husband, not doing well at any
of these things, as he is stalked by DVDs, then emails targeting his
private life. The plot is full of twist and turns and surprises and
does not let up until the last page. I loved the last line. And our
own Kenny Turan, film critic, is even mentioned on page 353! This book
is exceptionally well plotted and thought out and as exciting as can
be-you will love it!
I have been a Greg Hurwitz fan for years so I was especially pleased when his latest book arrived at Village Books with a hand written note inside from Greg himself, thanking his beloved booksellers who have supported him from the beginning and allowed him to do what he loves. His latest, They're Watching, is a delicious blend of suspense and emotional depth and high tech and exciting intensity that will keep you up very late reading! This very well constructed thriller follows Patrick, a screenwriter and teacher and husband, not doing well at any of these things, as he is stalked by DVDs, then emails targeting his private life. The plot is full of twist and turns and surprises and does not let up until the last page. I loved the last line. And our own Kenny Turan, film critic, is even mentioned on page 353! This book is exceptionally well plotted and thought out and as exciting as can be - you will love it!
Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat
by Jane Gardam
Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat are two related books about Sir Edward Feathers and his wife Betty, and I loved them both so much that I was in tears as I finished each one! I recommend them so highly, they are wonderful and witty and intelligent and literate and charming and funny and sad and lovely and moving. Edward was born in Malaya and then sent back to Britain as a "raj orphan." Educated in England, he then spends most of his life in Hong Kong, and finally returns to England to retire. You will be enchanted from start to finish with the characters and the themes and the lives and times described so beautifully. Read ASAP for pure reading pleasure!
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
by Helen Simonson
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson is a most marvelous and charming and loving and funny and satisfying novel-and a first one at that! Set in a small village in England, the characters are recognizable and real. The themes attacked are family, race, culture, real estate, inheritance, parenting, growing up, being a snob, acceptance, money, class and love. The reader gets lost among the gardens and hedgerows of the village and does not want to leave, at least the house of Major Pettigrew! He is an intelligent widower who suddenly realizes life has more to offer him than a matched set of guns handed down by his father years ago to himself and his brother, who has just died. There is romance and humor and who can ask for more? I loved every page and every moment. A most lovely and brilliant debut.
One Amazing Thing
by Chitra Banerfee Divakaruni
One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is her fifteenth book,
and she has not lost her power to tell a good story, or in this case, a
number of stories within this novel. The fascinating premise is that 9
people are stranded in a cellar level Indian Visa office in an American
city when an earthquake strikes, burying them under tons of debris.
Water is rising slowly through the floor and plaster is falling from
above, but there is no way out, as all exits are blocked. After
Cameron, an ex military man, takes over, the food each has in his
pockets or bag is divvied up, and water rationed; then the wait for
rescue or oblivion begins. To pass the time, Uma suggests they each
tell a story, something amazing from his or her past that has never
been told to anyone before. Each story is almost a novel into itself
and each imparts a feeling of loss and love and sorrow and learning and
love and lets us know why each wants to survive. A most compelling
novel, hard to put down!
One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is her fifteenth book, and she has not lost her power to tell a good story, or in this case, a number of stories within one novel. The fascinating premise is that 9 people are stranded in a cellar level Indian Visa office in an American city when an earthquake strikes, burying them under tons of debris. Water is rising slowly through the floor and plaster is falling from above, but there is no way out, as all exits are blocked. After Cameron, an ex-military man, takes over, the food each has in his pockets or bag is divvied up, and water rationed; then the wait for rescue or oblivion begins. To pass the time, Uma suggests they each tell a story, something amazing from his or her past that has never been told to anyone before. Each story is almost a novel into itself and each imparts a feeling of loss and love and sorrow and learning and love and lets us know why each wants to survive. A most compelling novel, hard to put down!
The Three Weissmans of Westport
by Cathleen Schine
This is a marvelous, entertaining and lovely re-doing of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility; rather than England, the action takes place in New York City and Connecticut. Seventy five-year-old Joe divorces his wife of 48 years for the younger woman in his office and thus, poor Betty is thrown out of her Central Park West apartment and her credit cards are taken away. She copes by thinking of "Josie" as dead (easier to be a widow than a spurned woman, also easier to remember her husband fondly, instead of with hatred.) Her two grown daughters move in with her and the ensuing tale is filled with delight and sorrow and outrage and lots of love. There are twists and surprises and humor and wonderful writing as the three women figure out how to live and prosper and love again. A lovely book.
is a marvelous,
entertaining and lovely redoing of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility;
rather than England, the action takes place in New York City and
Connecticut. 75 year old Joe divorces his wife of 48 years for the
younger woman in his office and thus poor Betty is thrown out of her
Central Park West apt , credit cards taken away. She copes by thinking
of "Josie" as dead (easier to be a widow than a spurned woman, also
easier to remember her husband fondly, instead of with hatred.) Her two
grown daughters move in with her and the ensuing tale is filled with
delight and sorrow and outrage and lots of love. There are twists and
surprises and humor and wonderful writing as the tree women figure out
how to live and prosper and love again. A lovely bookis a marvelous, entertaining and lovely redoing of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility; rather than England, the action takes place in New York City and Connecticut. 75 year old Joe divorces his wife of 48 years for the younger woman in his office and thus poor Betty is thrown out of her Central Park West apt , credit cards taken away. She copes by thinking of "Josie" as dead (easier to be a widow than a spurned woman, also easier to remember her husband fondly, instead of with hatred.) Her two grown daughters move in with her and the ensuing tale is filled with delight and sorrow and outrage and lots of love. There are twists and surprises and humor and wonderful writing as the tree women figure out how to live and prosper and love again. A lovely book.
Model Home
by Eric Puchner
The Gin Closet
by Leslie Jamison
The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison is a beautifully written and compelling
debut novel. The story tells of 3 generations of women, starting with
Lucy, the aging grandmother who suddenly is needing care; Dora, her
busy, high powered daughter out in California, who does not have time to
care for her mother, and Stella, the grand daughter, who takes the train
up from NY to help her grandma as she is dying. Lucy tells Stella that
she had another daughter, Tilly, who disappeared over 30 years ago;
Stella never knew she had an aunt. After Lucy dies, Stella finds
Tilly, leaving her job and NYC behind. The two of them then settle in
San Fransisco, with Tilly's son she gave up to his father many years
before. All 3 of them are lost souls; together they make a family as
best they can. Tilly has been drowning herself in gin for years, the
only place she feels comfortable; Stella tries to understand and Abe,
the lonely son, is bewildered and clinging to any hope he can--no one
can save Tilly but herself. This fascinating story reminded me of
Huneven's Blame. "The language is smart and sensuous." "It reads like
a detective novel written by a poet." Both statements echo my sentiments.
The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison is a beautifully written and compelling debut novel. The story tells of 3 generations of women, starting with Lucy, the aging grandmother who suddenly is needing care; Dora, her busy, high-powered daughter out in California, who does not have time to care for her mother, and Stella, the granddaughter, who takes the train up from NY to help her grandma as she is dying. Lucy tells Stella that she had another daughter, Tilly, who disappeared over 30 years ago; Stella never knew she had an aunt. After Lucy dies, Stella finds Tilly, leaving her job and NYC behind. The two of them then settle in San Fransisco, with Tilly's son, who she gave up to his father many years before. All three of them are lost souls; together they make a family as best they can. Tilly has been drowning herself in gin for years, the only place she feels comfortable; Stella tries to understand and Abe, the lonely son, is bewildered and clinging to any hope he can - no one can save Tilly but herself. This fascinating story reminded me of Michelle Huneven's Blame. "The language is smart and sensuous." "It reads like a detective novel written by a poet." Both statements echo my sentiments.
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